21 September 2007

Mulicorn

Dear Rusty,

Son, there is something I need to tell you. You never knew your father and don’t even know what he looks like. I have enclosed a photograph of me and him from before you were born. I know he wanted to be there for you but just couldn’t…some day you’ll understand. Years ago he did ask me to tell you one thing. He said, “Son, sorry you only got the 63 chromosomes…you’ll never be able to reproduce and pretty much the family line stops with you. -Dad”

A quick biology lesson just in case:A mule is the offspring of a male donkey and a female horse, which is classified as a kind of F1 Hybrid. Mules are almost always sterile. The sterility is attributed to the differing number of chromosomes of the two species: donkeys have 62 chromosomes, whereas horses have 64. Their offspring thus have 63 chromosomes which cannot evenly divide.